Starting Point
by JC Maxwell-Yuy
Summary: Chap.7 up! Sorry it took so long! The Chosen Children and the Tamers must join forces to defeat the evil that cannot be destroyed. *shounen-ai* (Jenkato, Taito)
1. The Odd Rip in Space. Calling of the Dar...

Starting Point_

Part 1

'The Odd Rip in Space. Calling of the Dark Ocean.'

By: JC Maxwell-Yuy

___________________________________________________________ 

JC: Hey! This Starting Point! 

Solo: Disclaimer: JC doesn't own Digimon Adventure 02 or Digimon Tamers and never will. 

JC: You heard right: This is a crossover of 02 and Tamers.

Takato: Yay!

Hirokazu: Whoo hoo!

Ruki: I have nothing to say on the matter.

Solo: For the sake of the people who don't know the Japanese character names and changed dubbed names:

Lee/Jenrya – Henry (ugh)

Ruki – Rika (no real difference, so why'd they change it?)

Hirokazu – Kazu

Juri – Jeri (uh, again, why change it?)

Taichi – Tai 

Yamato – Matt

Hikari – Kari 

Takeru – TK

Koushiro – Izzy

Daisuke – Davis

Miyako – Yolie (EWWWW!!!) 

Iori – Cody (ABSURD!)

Tailmon – Gatomon

JC: Well, let's start now!

___________________________________________________________ 

Darkness…

Revenge…

"They will suffer dearly!!!"

The day had started off perfect. The sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was the weekend, no school, and plenty of time to play.

"I got it!" Juri Katou shouted and jumped for the plastic beach ball.

"No, I got it!" Hirokazu Shiota grabbed the ball first and threw it at Takato.

"Hey!" Juri protested.

"Too fast!" Hirokazu smirked, and pushed his visor up, then got beamed by the ball.

"Ouch!"

"I'm not sure which got hurt. Your face, or your pride." Takato Matsuda laughed.

"Sheesh." Hirokazu pouted while Juri, Guilmon, and Takato laughed.

"I don't believe this." Ruki Maniko groaned as she watched the other children continue playing with Guilmon.

"What's wrong, Ruki?" Renamon asked.

"They're all playing and here we are, tracking down the digimon that escaped the digital field from last night." Ruki complained as she held her D-ARC up, but the scanner didn't pick up anything.

"The signal was small last night. Maybe we shouldn't worry too much about it." Renamon suggested.

"I don't care HOW small that signal was. There's a digimon loose, and we don't know whether it'll behave or cause trouble." The red-haired tamer walked off, her partner following.

'This is only the beginning…'

Jenrya Lee's eyes opened suddenly.

'What in the world was that voice?' Jenrya glanced around his room where he had dozed off while waiting for a new program to finish installing on his computer.

"Jenrya-niichan!" Shuichon burst into the room.

"Otousan wants you!" the pink-haired girl cried.

"Oh. Thanks." Lee got up and started to walk out of the room.

"There you are Terriermon!" Shuichon laughed and picked up the sleeping digimon from the bed and hugged him… hard.

"Be nice, Shuichon." Lee grimaced when he saw the uncomfortable and grumpy look on his partner's face. 

"HAI!" His little sister called as he left the room.

"Let's play hospital now! I'll be the doctor!"

"You wanted to see me, Otousan?" Lee poked his head into his father's room.

"Yes, I wanted you to see this." His father replied and pointed to the TV.

"This new theory suggests that there are other worlds… similar, yet different from our own." The announcer on the TV said.

"What's this?" Lee asked.

"It's a new theory. It suggests that there are different spaces… think of it like white light. You can split it into seven different colors." Mr. Lee explained. 

"So…" Lee wondered.

"They have been testing the technology on the recent digital fields." His father said gravely.

"It's close." Ruki cautioned. They were in the park near Guilmon's hutch.

"…" Renamon tensed as Ruki used her D-ARC to locate the digimon.

"It's to your right!" Ruki called out. Renamon leapt into action and tackled the strange being hard. Another kick sent the odd, glowing creature into the brush. A strange fog suddenly began to cover the area. The sound of waves could be heard far off.

"What is that thing?" Ruki wondered as she checked her digivice. She wasn't receiving any data on the creature they were fighting.

'You, child… will be the first!'

"What?" Ruki paled as the sickening voice echoed through her brain. She collapsed and started to fade out.

"RUKI!" Renamon punched the strange creature away the grabbed on to the girl just before she was sucked into the strange, glowing mist. 

"Oh… my head." Ruki groaned as she slowly woke up. Water lapped at her feet. 

"Ruki. Are you all right?" Renamon asked.

"I'm a little dizzy… where are we?" the girl asked as she took in the dismal sight of black water and sand.

"We appear to be on a beach." Renamon glared at the waves. 

"I don't like the feeling this place gives me."

"Neither do I." Ruki agreed. 

"Let's just go home."

"Wait." Renamon cautioned as Ruki began to step away.

"What's wrong?" Ruki turned to see a dark shape rising out of the ocean.

"RENAMON! BEHIND YOU!" 

The fox digimon turned only it was too late. The creature's tentacles shout out and hit her, sending her flying into the cliff.

"RENAMON!" Ruki cried out.

"He's… so strong…" Renamon gasped.

"CARD SLASH! CHOU SHINKA, PLUG IN 'S'!" Ruki slashed the card through her digivice.

Evolution_

"RENAMON SHINKA! KYUUBIMON!" 

"Dagomon. Perfect level. Virus type. His special attack is 'Forbidden Trident'." Ruki read off the stats of their attacker. 

Kyuubimon tackled Dagomon with her 'Fox Flame Dragon'. But it didn't do any good. Dagomon lashed out again and Kyuubimon crumpled to the ground.

"K'so!" Ruki pulled out another plug in card but a blast of fire startled her. The fire continued and surrounded her completely.

"Who… What's going on?" 

"Ruki!" Kyuubimon shouted and ran toward her partner, only to be blasted back by the fire ring.

A shadow rippled… Dark eyes glared from beneath the hood of the red cloak. 

"What… is that digimon?" Ruki glanced at her D-ARC.

"Demon… Extreme level… virus… His special attack is 'Flame Inferno'." 

"Hahaha!" Demon laughed as he rose from the shadowy water. 

"So child, did you honestly think you could defeat Dagomon with such a pathetic partner?"

"Shut up!" Ruki screamed.

"Not so tough now, hm?" Demon taunted. "The first chosen children I would have liked to destroy would have been those who sealed me away… but you'll do just fine."

"What are you talking about?" Ruki gasped. 

"Don't play dumb. I will kill ALL the chosen children and their insolent partner digimon. Then, I will use the Dark Ocean's power to envelop all reality in darkness!" Demon gestured at the waters.

All of a sudden, Ruki wanted to go home. Home, the park, her mother's photo shoot, anywhere but where she was. 

"Ruki…" Kyuubimon staggered to her feet.

"I will protect you…"

Suddenly, Ruki wasn't scared.

'We're partners… we back each other up…'

The card in her hand flared bright blue. 

"CARD SLASH! MATRIX EVOLUTION!"

Matrix

Evolution_

"KYUUBIMON SHINKA! TAOMON!"

"Rice Cord!" Taomon dispersed the fire that surrounded Ruki. 

"Taomon! Let's get out of here!" Ruki clutched her partner's arm tightly as Taomon used another spell to escape above the two evil digimon.

"NO!" Demon shouted as Taomon carried Ruki into the shining light above the dark clouds. 

Tamers World…

"I'm sorry. I haven't seen Ruki." Takato said.

"Really? I thought she was with you today." Lee was surprised.

"She was… only, she was tracking down that digimon from last night… and then we never heard from her." Takato gasped.

"You don't suppose…" Lee started.

"Don't talk like that Lee!" Takato frowned. 

"Look, we need to find her. It's not safe to go into the digital fields right now." Lee explained.

"Why?"

"Because…" Lee explained to Takato about the dimension experiments on the fields.

"Do you think that the digimon from last night was zapped by the experiment?" Takato asked.

"I do. If the theory is right, Ruki might not be on Earth anymore." 

To be continued_

___________________________________________________________ 

JC: Well… Please R&R!

Solo: The next time, Ruki falls into the digital world of 02. 

JC: Jiikai! Digimon Tamers, Starting Point, 'Digital Gate Open! The New World for Ruki!'!


	2. Digital Gate Open! A New World for Ruki!

Starting Point_

Part 2

'Digital Gate Open! A New World for Ruki!'

________________________________________________________________________ 

JC: Continuing on… Part 2!

Solo: Same disclaimer as before: JC doesn't own anything.

JC: As usual.

Solo: On with the show!

________________________________________________________________________ 

The first thing Ruki saw when she opened her eyes was the brilliant blue sky.

"Ughn…" The girl moaned as she rubbed her temples to fight the growing headache. Memory flooded her, the strange ocean, Dagomon, Demon… and…

"TAOMON?!" Ruki called. The tamer stood up, trying to get her bearings. She was in a grassy field, full of strange flowers and…

"Digimon?" She gasped, surprised as a flock of Airdramon flew overhead. A group of Woodmon were at the edge of the field, apparently sleeping. 

"Ruki." Renamon appeared.

"AH! Renamon!" Ruki hugged her partner tight. "Don't scare me like that..."

"I'm sorry." Renamon apologized.

"Where are we?" Ruki asked and gazed at the sky.

"Apparently, the Digital World." Renamon stated. 

"However, this is not the Digital World I remember."

Meanwhile…

"Where could Ruki have gone?" Takato hung the phone up. He'd just called Ruki's house, but her grandmother said she hadn't come home the night before.

"It's almost been 24 hours." Lee said.

"If we can find the digimon then…" Takato started.

"We tried that yesterday and found nothing. No new digital fields have appeared." Lee squeezed Takato's arm, trying to comfort the boy, but Takato was anything but calm. 

"She's been gone too long. I have a bad feeling about this." The goggle boy leaned back… and nearly fell out of the chair he was sitting in. Fortunately, Lee caught him and helped him back into the chair.

"You should be more careful." Lee scolded.

"I know… but I feel safe with you around." Takato sighed. Lee blushed.

Back to Ruki…

"What do you mean, 'this isn't the Digital World you remember'?" Ruki repeated.

"Exactly what I said. The world I came from was harsh, and unforgiving." Renamon explained. 

"Maybe things changed." Ruki suggested.

"I don't think that it could have over such a short period of time. There's several big differences." The fox digimon stared at the sky.

"For one, I can't see the Real World in the sky." 

"You could see the Real World?" Ruki was surprised.

"Yes, it was always in the sky. All digimon dream of evolving until they are able to travel to the Real World." Renamon explained.

"I had no idea…" Ruki stood up.

"Let's go."

Odaiba, the Yagami residence:

"Onii-chan! Hurry up or we'll be late!" Hikari Yagami yelled to her older brother, Taichi.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Taichi lumbered into his room with a large picnic basket, and his boyfriend, Yamato.

"Do you need help?" Hikari asked, seeing Taichi's strained expression.

"No… I got… it! OUCH!" Taichi dropped the basket on his foot.

"I told you not to carry it by yourself." Yamato snickered.

"Sheesh! Kiss it and make it better!" Taichi gestured at his injured foot.

"No." Yamato replied flatly. Hikari sighed. It was amazing that days could be so normal now. Picnics in the Digital World were quite frequent, especially for her older brother and Yamato.

"Hikari, will you kiss it and make it better?" Taichi joked.

"Eww…" Hikari backed away from her brother's foot and pulled out her D-3.

"One last thing…" Taichi started but then the door burst open and a very exhausted Miyako Inoue stood there with Poromon, panting.

"Ran… all… the… way… " The purple-haired girl gasped.

"Hold on. I'll get some water." Hikari jumped up with Tailmon and ran to the kitchen.

"I guess lunch will have to wait a bit, huh?" Yamato grinned. 

Meanwhile, Ruki and Renamon hiked across the grassy field to a nearby hill. At the crest of the hill, sitting on a large rock, was a TV set.

"I don't understand." Ruki said flatly as she examined the TV.

"The Elecmon told us that this was the portal to the Real World. He said that humans come through the TVs." Renamon recalled.

"Yeah, well, I don't see…" Ruki turned around, as she did so, the screen of her D-ARC faced the TV screen. A brilliant flashing light went off, and she and Renamon were sucked in. 

"What the?" Taichi gasped as the computer screen flared white, and the next second, someone landed on him. 

"ITAI!!!"

"What's wrong?!" Hikari and Miyako dashed back into the room to find a strange red haired girl on top Taichi and an unknown fox digimon. 

"Onii-chan! Daijoubu?!" Hikari gasped and hurried to help her brother and the girl up. 

"I'm fine." Taichi groaned as his sister pulled him to his feet. He turned to the Ruki.

"Who are you?" 

To Be Continued…

________________________________________________________________________

JC: Well, now Ruki is about to meet first and second generations of Chosen Children! What will happen next? And what about Lee and Takato? Will they ever find Ruki? 

Lee: We have to find Ruki! And get Takato to confess his love for me! Can we do both in just one part? 

Takato: Jiikai, Digimon Tamers, Starting Point! 'Falling! Takato no Hatsukoi'! 


	3. Falling! Takato no Hatsukoi!

Starting Point_

Part 3

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Falling! Takato no Hatsukoi!

******************************************************************************************** 

JC: And here's part 3! It's gonna get a little shounen-ai-ish in this part. If you don't like it, don't read it. Now on with the show!

Solo: Same disclaimers as before, JC doesn't own anything. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

_Fear…_

"RUN!" 

__

It's coming…

"I can't… TAKATO!"

__

You can't do anything…

"I… love you…"

__

Except run…

"GGAAHHH!!!" Takato woke up in cold sweat. His hands clutched the bed sheets tightly, his breathing hard. It was that horrible dream again, the same dream that he'd started having ever since Ruki disappeared. It scared him, almost to the point that when he woke up, he was sure he had wet the bed.

"Takato, is everything all right?" His mother poked her head through the door.

"I'm… fine Mom." Takato replied shakily before the door shut and he was alone in the dark. He whispered…

"Lee-kun…"

Ruki had been missing for a week. There was no trace of her or Renamon. That and Shuichon's constant nagging was getting on Lee's nerves. And to make matters worse, Takato had started to be less enthusiastic. 

"Jen-nii-chan!" Shuichon cried out.

"Do you wanna play doctor with me and Terriermon?"

"Uh… no thanks. Maybe later." Lee reached for his digimon but Shuichon wouldn't let go.

"Shuichon!"

"But Jen-nii-chan!" Shuichon protested as Lee left with Terriermon. The door slammed in her face. 

"WWHHHHHAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Outside the apartment, Lee sighed.

'I'm sorry Shuichon.' 

"Ne, Jen." Terriermon leaned over.

"Hm?" 

"MOMENTAI!" Terriermon cried. Lee smiled.

__

"Those silly little children have no idea what's in store for them!"

"Did you feel that?" Takato asked Guilmon.

"Feel what?" Guilmon asked.

"That cold… feeling." Takato replied and shivered.

"I don't… grrrrrrr…" The dinosaur digimon suddenly crouched down and bared his fangs. 

__

"The girl has already left the gate open a crack… now, if another child were to travel through it, the gate will surely open and free me!"

"Takato… something's coming!" Guilmon growled. Takato nodded.

Meanwhile, outside the park…

"Jen! A digimon is coming!" Terriermon warned.

"There's something different about this one!" Lee gasped as the cold mist of the Digital Field wrapped around them.

"Momentai! I'll take it down." Terriermon jumped off his tamer's shoulders and got ready to fight. 

"Let's see." Lee glanced at his D-ARC. The digimon's data suddenly appeared.

"Hangyomon. Perfect level. Special attack, 'Strike Fishing' and 'Hell Dive'." 

"Raging fire!" Terriermon blasted the Hangyomon, only to have it vanish into the fog.

"Where'd he go?"

As Lee scanned the area, he felt a sudden tug at his leg. To his horror, his legs were disappearing into the fog. Someone… or something was dragging him down below the ground. The cold feeling from when Hangyomon first appeared returned, stronger than ever. It made him weak, insecure, and scared.

'Takato… where are you… I need you… help…'

"TERRIERMON!"

"Jen!" The bunny digimon rushed to his partner only to be knocked away by the Hangyomon's spear.

"Lee-kun!" Takato and Guilmon burst through the mist. 

"Oh no! Card Slash! High Offense Plug-in A!" 

"FIREBALL!" Guilmon attacked the Hangyomon, destroying it.

"LEE!" Takato dove to grab Lee's hand but missed it by millimeters and crashed onto the ground. 

"TAKATO!" Lee cried out in fear as the mist swallowed him up completely and he vanished. The fog then blew away and dispersed, leaving things the way they were. 

"Lee-kun! Lee-kun!" Takato cried and slammed his fist into the ground.

"K'so! K'so! K'so! Why Lee? Why?"

Guilmon approached his partner and hugged him.

"Lee… I love you…"

__

Chosen Children's Universe:

A week. A whole week. Ruki was still not used to the life she was now living. The girl, Hikari had invited her to stay with her family. That wasn't so bad. The thing that made Ruki sad was, she couldn't go home. At all. Her mother, her grandmother, even her house, it was as if they never existed in this world. Luckily, she still had Renamon. Both knew that they had to get back somehow, but for now…

"RUKI-SAN!" Hikari called.

"Coming!" Ruki replied and headed towards the park where Hikari and Tailmon were waiting with the rest of the Japan Chosen Children. She had gotten to know some of them by now. Taichi, Hikari's older brother and the 'leader'. Yamato, Taichi's boyfriend and singer. Miyako, Hikari's loud and irritating 'jogress partner'… whatever that was. And Koushiro, the brainy boy. The others she didn't know yet. But their digimon, she was amazed that evolution was so… simple here. Evolution could just happen just like snapping your fingers, unlike the tamer method, using cards. 

"Come on, everyone's waiting for us." Renamon said, breaking Ruki out of her train of thought.

"Oh… right." Ruki sped her pace up.

To Be Continued…

*********************************************************************************************************** 

JC: Oh no! Lee's disappeared!

Takato: This is terrible! And to make matters worse, Demon is ready to unleash his army once again! What's gonna happen to us? Lee, I'm so worried about you! 

Ruki: Jiikai, Digimon Tamers Starting Point, 'Demon Invasion! Ruki and Takato's Tough Fight!' 


	4. Demon Invasion! Ruki and Takato’s Tough ...

Starting Point_

Part 4

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Demon Invasion! Ruki and Takato's Tough Fight!

________________________________________________________________________ 

JC: So here's part 4!

Solo: The fight is only just beginning!

JC: GO RUKI! GO RUKI! (waves fans)

Takato: All right, let's go!

_________________________________________________________ 

Lee was falling… falling fast… 

"TAKATO! TERRIERMON!" He screamed as the cold air rushed past him for what seemed forever in the dark void.

After a long time, Lee hit the beach… literally.

"Itai…" the boy groaned as he brushed sand off himself. 

"Where am I? What is this place?" Lee wondered as he looked at the gray sand, the dark water, and the gloomy sky. He walked along the shore for a bit, calling for Terriermon and Takato… anybody.

'I wonder if this is what happened to Ruki…'

Lee started calling for Ruki too. Fog began wrapping around him again, forcing him to turn the collar of his vest up.

"Lee-kun! Lee-kun!" Takato yelled.

"JEN! JEN!" Terriermon called.

"Lee… where'd you go?" Takato whispered sadly.

"I failed to protect you… Jen." Terriermon slumped over, tears falling from his eyes.

"Lee… I never really got to tell you how I felt…" Takato sobbed as he collapsed to the ground in despair.

Meanwhile, Lee felt something warm against his skin. To his surprise, his D-ARC was glowing and pulsing with powerful green light.

'I love you…' Takato's words suddenly echoed through the air.

"Takato-kun? Where are you?" Lee called.

'I wish that you were here with me right now…'

"Takato?" Lee's heart started pounding. He felt so cold, yet, whenever Takato's voice sounded, he felt warm and safe.

'I want… you to feel the same way.' The light from the D-ARC flared brighter.

"Takato-kun… I want to be with you too. I love…" Lee said and the light shone so bright he couldn't see anymore. When the light faded, he could hear soft sobbing noises and a familiar pair of goggles buried in his chest.

"Lee… you're back…" Takato's arms were wrapped tight around Lee's waist as he cried right into the taller boy's shirt.

"Yeah…" Lee smiled as Terriermon took his perch back on his head.

"Momentai, ne Terriermon?"

"Momentai!"

_"This was unexpected… no matter… the gate is open enough to send my soldiers through again… BEHOLD ONCE MORE, MY NIGHTMARE SOLDIERS! GO FORTH!"_

Tamers' world:

"Takato, Terriermon. I'm so sorry I worried you." Lee apologized to the very big teary-eyed pair that stared at him. As if on cue, both glomped onto him again. But Lee couldn't complain… the warmth and love he felt were a powerful comfort from the horrible place he'd been in…

__

Chosen Children's World:

Ruki and Hikari walked down the streets of Odaiba with their respective partners. Suddenly, Hikari hunched over in pain!

"Hikari!" Tailmon gasps and tries to support the child of light.

"What's the matter?" Ruki knelt down and examined Hikari.

"I'm… fine…" Hikari stammered. "But just now… I felt a horrible chill."

"I feel it too." Tailmon said.

"A digimon is coming." Renamon said, fur standing up.

"It feels so cold and… desolate." Ruki shivered and braced herself as a cold blast of wind shot out from the alleyway ahead of them. 

Evil red eyes glowed from behind the gray screen of mist… and a shrill cry echoed through the air.

__

Tamers' World:

Takato and Lee collapsed as the ground began to shake. 

"Takato!" Lee grabbed Takato's hand as the ground continued to shake.

"Jen…" Takato grasped the hand tightly as the shaking grew worse.

"Takato… there's a digimon here. And it's BIG!" Guilmon growled.

"A digimon?" Takato stared at the sky.

"Where?" Lee wondered as Terriermon jumped into a tree. The bunny digimon gasped as a large dark shape rose from the ocean and headed right for land!

"Jen! It's huge!" Terriermon gasped.

"Let's see." Lee pulled out his D-ARC. "Marine Devimon. Perfect level virus. His special attack is 'Guilty Black'."

"We'd better intercept him." Takato said. Lee agreed and gave him a reassuring smile as they ran toward the harbor. 

__

Chosen Children's World:

"What is that thing?" Ruki gasped.

"I've seen her before." Hikari stood up.

"Ah, I've been waiting for a rematch." Lady Devimon said.

"Lady Devimon, a fallen angel digimon. Perfect level virus. Her special attack is 'Darkness Wave'." Ruki reported. "Renamon! Walk all over her!"

"Right!" Renamon jumped into the air. Lady Devimon looked amused as the rookie vanished from sight.

"CARD SLASH! BATTLE TOMAHAWK!" Ruki slashed a weapon card.

"What's that?" Hikari gasped as a brilliant light flared from the D-ARC. 

"KOHENKYO!" Renamon reappeared behind Lady Devimon and struck her with the tomahawk.

"What's this?" Lady Devimon backed away. "DARKNESS WAVE!"

"FIOSAGE!" Renamon showered the bats with leaf arrowheads, destroying them.

"Amazing!" Tailmon gasped.

"CARD SLASH! HIGH SPEED PLUG IN 'B'!" Ruki slashed another card. Renamon's speed increased as she slammed into Lady Devimon with a powerful kick. However, the virus digimon retaliated with a kick of her own, sending Renamon hard into the pavement.

"RENAMON!" Ruki cried out. Hikari stood up and her D-3 flashed with power.

"TAILMON CHOU SHINKA! ANGEWOMON!" A brilliant shower of pink light engulfed Tailmon as she evolved into Angewomon.

"Angewomon, an angel digimon. Perfect level vaccine. Her special attack is 'Holy Arrow'." The tamer said.

"Hmph!" Lady Devimon smirked. "DARKNESS WAVE!"

Hikari pulled out her D-Terminal and tried to call the other children for help, but the messages didn't go through. 

"AAAAHHHH!!!" Angewomon was knocked against a building by Lady Devimon's attack.

"Angewomon!" Hikari cried out. 

__

Tamers' World:

"Let's go! CARD SLASH! CHOU-SHINKA PLUG-IN 'S'!" Takato and Lee both slashed evolution cards.

Evolution_

"GUILMON SHINKA! GROWMON!"

"TERRIERMON SHINKA! GALGOMON!"

Marine Devimon turned as the two digimon flew at him.

"Gattling Arm!"

"Exhaust Flame!" 

Both attacks hit the aquatic beast's face and exploded. 

__

Chosen Children's World:

"CARD SLASH! CHOU-SHINKA PLUG-IN 'S'!" Ruki held the shining card up.

"RENAMON SHINKA! KYUUBIMON!" 

"Enough of this! DARKNESS WAVE!" Lady Devimon blasted Angewomon and Kyuubimon away with her attack. 

"KYUUBIMON!" Ruki pulled out another card but when she looked at it, it was bright blue!

"Let's take her down! CARD SLASH! MATRIX EVOLUTION!" 

Matrix Evolution_

"KYUUBIMON SHINKA! TAOMON!" Kyuubimon broke away from the bats and the graceful Taomon appeared.

"She evolved…" Hikari gasped.

"Hm?" Lady Devimon looked surprised as Taomon's hands flared white with a spell and all of the bats dispersed.

"Thank you." Angewomon said and got ready to rejoin the fight. 

"Go take her down Taomon!" Ruki shouted. 

"You too Angewomon!" Hikari added.

__

Tamers' World:

The smoke from the explosion cleared, and Marine Devimon was still standing.

"What?" Takato gasped.

"PRESSURE!" Marine Devimon twisted his arms and a powerful blast knocked Growmon and Galgomon away as well as crumbling some buildings. People ran screaming in terror as debris rained down in all directions.

"We have to stop him!" Takato shouted over the noise.

"But… we'll have to…" Lee stammered.

"Lee! If we don't stop him, he'll hurt other people! Look!" Takato grabbed Lee's hand and pulled the boy in another direction to see people trapped under the destroyed buildings. Growmon and Galgomon were working to get them out and Marine Devimon was still advancing.

"Lee, I… I love you and I know how you feel about killing digimon, but this one's dangerous! It has to be stopped!" Takato pleaded. "I can't fight it alone with Growmon, you have to help too!"

"You're right…" Lee whispered. 'I'll never forgive myself if that thing hurts Takato… or Shuichon, or Terriermon.'

"Takato-kun!" A voice called out as Juri, Kenta, and Hirokazu ran up with Culumon.

"Katou-san… Kenta, Hirokazu." Takato was surprised.

"Come on! You guys have to stop that thing!" Hirokazu said.

"If only we were tamers we could help." Kenta groaned.

"Do something!" Juri cried as Marine Devimon roared and shattered another building. 

Takato looked at Culumon. The red mark on his forehead glowed.

"CULU-SHINKA! CULU!" Culumon said. 

"Right! Lee!" Takato grabbed Lee's hand.

"When did they hook up?" Hirokazu wondered as the cards in Takato and Lee's hands changed blue.

"CARD SLASH! MATRIX EVOLUTION!" Takato and Lee shouted. 

"Here we go-culu!" Culumon concentrated and a brilliant burst of evolution aided the blue card power.

Matrix Evolution_

"GROWMON SHINKA! MEGALO GROWMON!"

"GALGOMON SHINKA! RAPIDMON!"

Now powered up, the two perfect digimon re-engaged battle with Marine Devimon.

"RAPID FIRE!" Rapidmon showered the dark digimon with missiles. 

"GUILTY BLACK!" Marine Devimon spat out black ink.

"DOUBLE EDGE!" Megalo Growmon sliced the attack in half and rammed the marine digimon with the sharp blades, slicing off several tentacles. 

"Go!" Hirokazu, Kenta, and Juri cheered. 

"GOLDEN TRIANGLE!"

"ATOMIC BLASTER!"

Both attacks hit Marine Devimon and blew him into tiny bits of data. 

__

Chosen Children's World:

"FOX OFUDA!" Taomon threw the paper seals at Lady Devimon, slowing her down, allowing Angewomon to come up from behind and strike her with a slap.

"What the?" Ruki stared, surprised as Angewomon and Lady Devimon started a fury of slapping each other silly.

"This is the third time." Hikari sighed. "But it has to be done! ANGEWOMON GO!"

"Taomon, get in there!" Ruki shouted.

"BUDDIST BRUSH BRANDISH!" Taomon traced her attack out and the shining kanji hit Lady Devimon, paralyzing her.

"HOLY… ARROW!" Angewomon's attack pierced the evil digimon and disintegrated her.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!! NOT AGAAAIIIINNNNN!!!" 

"Nice." Ruki commented.

"Yeah. Taomon's cool." Hikari said as the two digimon devolved back to their rookie forms.

"Hikari… there's something odd about Lady Devimon's appearance in the real world." Tailmon said.

"I know. You don't think that…" Hikari started.

"I'm not quite sure." Tailmon replied. "But anything is possible."

"What is?" Ruki asked.

"When you told us you were in the Dark Ocean… and then you encountered Demon." Hikari started.

"What are you saying?" Renamon asked.

"The gate must be open a bit. I'll explain later, but right now, we need to call the others!" Hikari picked up her D-Terminal.

__

Tamers' World:

"That was great you guys!" Takato said as he embraced Guilmon.

"Momentai!" Terriermon laughed and hugged Lee.

"But what about Ruki?" Juri wondered. "Didn't you guys find her yet?"

The two tamers shook their heads. But the ground shaking again interrupted the emotion.

"What… What's going on?" Kenta cried and clutched Hirokazu as the ground split open.

"A earthquake?" Takato wondered.

"CULU-CULU!" Culumon cried and buried himself in Juri's arms.

"I think Marine Devimon was only just the beginning…," Lee said.

__

'You have no idea…'

To Be Continued… 

******************************************************************* 

JC: Well, that was part 4! Hope you all enjoyed! Please R&R!!!

Takato: Lee-kun and I have confessed our love to each other and beat Marine Devimon!

Ruki: Hey, don't forget about me!

Lee: But now, the battle is far from over! Why is the ground shaking? And what is the next nightmare soldier that's going to appear? Will we find Ruki?

Ruki: You'd better!

Takato: Jiikai! Digimon Tamers, Starting Point, 'Reunion of the Tamers! Skull Satamon and the Thousand Dark Towers!'


	5. Reunion of the Tamers! Skull Satamon and...

Starting Point

Part 5

__

Reunion of the Tamers! Skull Satamon and the Thousand Dark Towers!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

JC: Hey! Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far! Please R&R more! I LOVE FEEDBACK! 

Solo: As usual, JC owns nothing!

JC: Ah, but they know that already. *sighs* I own nothing! 

Takato: But anyway… we still have a long way to go!

Ruki: Can we start already?

Ken: But first, a **HUGE NOTE**! Puuchimon is the armor-evolved form of Wormmon. A fairy type digimon whose special attack is 'Heartner Beam'. I know what you're thinking: I never got a digimental on the show, but I received the digimental of kindness to fight against Digimon Kaiser Daisuke in the CD drama 'Michi e no Armor Shinka'. No lie!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

Chosen Children's World:

The meeting with the other children was moved almost immediately to Koushiro's apartment. Most of the children and digimon stayed in the living room to discuss strategy while Koushiro asked Ruki into his room. 

"So this is your digivice?" Koushiro remarked as he inspected Ruki's D-ARC and cards. "Interesting… I've never seen this version before. How did you get it?"

"Renamon…" Ruki said and her partner shifted into the room.

"I wanted a strong tamer." Renamon explained.

"You got it." Ruki smirked.

"Tamer… that's a different term. And the cards?" Koushiro flipped through the deck then examined the D-ARC. He pressed the button and the scanner screen appeared. 

"Speed, Evolution, Defense, Attack, and field plug-ins. The rest are character cards." Ruki explained.

"So basically… you 'Card Slash' the cards and whatever's on the card happens to Renamon?" 

"Exactly. You can use combos as well."

"I don't really think I understand, since there's no digimon card game here." Koushiro handed the D-ARC and cards back to Ruki. "But it's going to be tough fighting Demon. Have you been able to evolve beyond 'kanzentai'?"

Ruki shook her head. 

"I see." Koushiro got up and turned on his computer and pulling up several digimon files. "When the second generation encountered Demon, it was impossible to destroy him, so they sealed him into Dagomon's ocean. However… it seems that he's managed to find a rip, or hole, in the seal."

"Then we should reseal the gate." Renamon suggested.

"It's no good. If he was able to break out in such a short time after he was sealed, he might get out again." Koushiro tapped the keyboard.

"So now what?" Ruki asked. "How does this help me? How does it get me home?"

"I think I can bring your friends here but you'll have to loan me you digivice." Koushiro said.

"… Ok." Ruki handed her D-ARC over to him again.

"Yosh!" Koushiro started typing. Jyou opened the door.

"I thought I heard typing." The bearer of faith smirked. "Ruki-san, Renamon, you might be a bit bored to tears while Koushiro does his work. Maybe you should come down until the clacking of keys stops, ne?"

"Oh." Ruki said and followed Jyou out. Renamon walked after them and shut the door.

*CLACK!* *TAP* *BEEP!*

**__**

Tamer's World:

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Juri screamed as she lost her footing on the splitting ground.

"Katou-san!" Takato grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"CULU-CULU! THIS IS TERRIBLE-CULU!" Culumon cried as the ground continued to shake.

"WHOA!" Hirokazu fell on top of Kenta. 

"Get out of my face!" Kenta groaned.

"Me?! You get out of my face!" Hirokazu shouted.

"Cut it out!" Lee said and pulled Hirokazu off Kenta. 

"MEGALO GROWMON!" Takato called to his partner. "Give us a lift!"

"You too Rapidmon!" Lee shouted and left the bickering Hirokazu and Kenta with Rapidmon.

"We wish we were tamers." The two boys moaned as Rapidmon carried them off the ground. 

"Lee-kun!" Takato and Juri were already on Megalo Growmon. "Hurry!"

"I'm coming!" Lee ran towards Takato's outstretched hand and grabbed it just in time as a black spire erupted from the ground where he was just standing. 

"What is that?" Takato gasped. Juri reached for her card deck.

"A Dark Tower. All evolution is sealed…" Juri read the card's description.

"All evolution is…?" Lee gasped as Megalo Growmon began shrinking.

"WWWAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Hirokazu and Kenta screamed as Rapidmon lost hold of them and devolved back to Terriermon. Luckily, they weren't high off the ground and the three landed in a bush.

"I'm sorry Takato." Guilmon apologized as he devolved. 

"It's OK Guilmon." Takato patted his partner's head and turned to stare at the Dark Tower.

"How in the world did that get there?" Lee wondered.

"Oh no!" Juri cried out as more Dark Towers appeared around them.

"There's so many…" Takato gasped.

"Where did they all come from?"

**__**

Chosen Children's World:

"What's this?" Koushiro gasped as hundreds of black dots filled his screen. The building began to shake, as the clear night sky became a turmoil of lightning and thunder. "I know this… it's… Dark Towers."

"What's going on Koushiro?" Jyou ran into the room.

"I'm picking up Dark Tower energy!" Koushiro gasped. Ruki's D-ARC began flashing bright red. "What's happening?!"

"What's going on?" Ruki and Renamon rushed in. Koushiro wordlessly handed back Ruki her D-ARC, which was pulsing with power.

****

Tamer World:

"There are so many…" Takato stared at the mass of Dark Towers that now littered West Shinjiku.

"It feels so cold." Juri shivered and pulled Culumon closer to her. The little digimon huddled in her arms.

"I've never seen such a thing." Lee said.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, fog began rolling in. The gray mist wrapped itself around some of the Dark Towers… and changed them…

"What's going on?" Kenta clutched Hirokazu's arm as the several of the towers melted together into a dark, menacing shape that loomed above them in the fog.

"Digimon?" Lee wondered.

"No… it's…" Takato peered at the dark shape… and ran for his life as the shape lashed out.

"TAKATO!" Everyone screamed.

"Terriermon! EVOLVE NOW!" Lee shouted. "CARD SLASH! MATRIX EVOLUTION!"

Nothing happened.

"What's going on?" Lee gasped, then realization hit him as to what Juri said earlier about the towers. "Evolution is sealed…"

Despite that, Terriermon and Guilmon attacked the large creature, but it was no use. It was too big and powerful. 

But out of nowhere… shining light burst through the fog and the tamers disappeared! 

Dark Towers littered Japan. The fog and the Dark Towers encased Tokyo and pulled it through time and space… until it was one with the other world… 

****

Chosen Children's World/Tamer's World: 

"What happened?" Ruki asked when the shaking stopped.

"Dark Towers happened. They… weaken the barriers of worlds. There must have been enough to collapse the barriers of one and…" Koushiro started typing.

"And what?" Jyou asked. By now, all the Chosen Children and digimon had crowded into the tiny bedroom.

"I can't say for sure… but the current Dark Tower count is… one thousand and rising… there's a large cluster forming near the West Shinjiku area." Koushiro said grimly.

"That means… evolution is…" Ken stared. 

"Impossible at this point. We've got our work cut out for us. Go!" Taichi patted Daisuke on the back.

"OK! Everyone let's go!" the leader of the second generation shouted.

"YEAH!" all the kids cheered.

****

Takato-tachi:

"CARD SLASH! WHITE WINGS!" Takato slashed the wings card, giving Guilmon the ability to fly. The dinosaur digimon took to the skies and blasted the dark shape with:

"FIRE BALL!"

"It's no good Takato. We need to evolve to at least the next level if we're going to beat it." Lee shouted.

"I'm scared!" Juri cried. 

****

Daisuke-tachi:

"DIGIMENTAL UP!" six points of light shot into the air. 

"V-MON ARMOR SHINKA! FIRE OF YUUKI, FLADRAMON!"

"HAWKMON ARMOR SHINKA! HABATAKU AIJOU! HOLSMON!"

"ARMADIMON ARMOR SHINKA! STEEL OF KNOWLEDGE, DIGMON!"

"PATAMON ARMOR SHINKA! GALLOPING HOPE, PEGASMON!"

"TAILMON ARMOR SHINKA! SMILING LIGHT, NEFERTIMON!"

"WORMMON ARMOR SHINKA! MANATSUNORI NO YASASHSAA, PUUCHIMON!"

"Let's go Chosen Children!" Miyako jumped onto Holsmon's back and took off.

"YOSH!" Daisuke jumped onto Pegasmon's back with Takeru. Iori joined Hikari while Puuchimon lifted Ken onto his back. Pegasmon and Nefertimon used their 'Sanctuary Bite' to lift Digmon into the air. 

"WAIT! I'm coming too!" Ruki shouted. Renamon was right behind her.

"Ruki, I'd better carry you." Renamon picked her tamer up and vanished into the night.

"All right! Let's move!" Daisuke shouted and all the armor digimon took off.

****

Takato-tachi:

"Nothing's working!" Lee backed away as the dark shape advanced. Terriermon and Guilmon were both knocked out. 

"It can't end like this!" Takato hugged Guilmon. The shape thundered forward and…

"RED SUN!" Holsmon's eyes flared and a sunburst explosion illuminated the shape, of which the upper area had shattered, revealing a Dark Tower digimon!

"GOLD RUSH!"

"FIRE ROCKET!" Fladramon and Digmon took down several Dark Towers.

"HEARTNER BEAM!"

"SHOOTING STAR!"

"CURSE OF THE QUEEN!" more towers crumble… enough for…

"CARD SLASH! CHOU-SHINKA PLUG-IN 'S'!" 

"I know that voice!" Takato gasped.

****

Evolution_ 

"RENAMON SHINKA! KYUUBIMON!" 

"RUKI!" Juri cried happily as the red haired tamer stepped out into view.

"CULU!" Culumon flew over happily.

"Juri. Culumon." Ruki smiled.

"We thought you'd…" Lee started, but stopped as the Dark Tower digimon crashed into the ground near him. 

"TEMPEST WING!"

"KNUCKLE FIRE!"

"BIG CRACK!" Digmon's attack sent the Dark Tower digimon to it's grave. The remaining particles shattered and dispersed in the cold wind.

"That was far too easy Miyako." Holsmon remarked.

"Yeah… but look! Ruki-chan found her friends!" Miyako cheered and went to join the others. However, the celebration was cut short.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Impressive show, chosen children, but you have yet to face me!"

"Skull Satamon. Perfect level virus type. His special attack is 'Nail Bone'." Takato said.

"NAIL BONE!" Skull Satamon brandished his staff and instantly all the armor digimon were reduced to their rookie forms.

"He's strong." Takeru gasped.

"We beat him before, we can do it again!" Iori stood up.

"PATAMON SHINKA! ANGEMON!"

"ARMADIMON SHINKA! ANKYLOMON!"

"CULU!!!" a burst of light flashed.

**Jogress**

Evolution_

"SHAKKOUMON!" the two boys gasped.

"Hm? NAIL BONE!" Skull Satamon attacked, but this time his attack was absorbed by the steel angel.

"Miyako-san!"

"Hikari-chan!"

"HAWKMON SHINKA! AQUILAMON!"

"TAILMON!"

"JOGRESS SHINKA! SILPHYMON! TOP GUN!" Silphymon blasted Skull Satamon with a burst of pink and red energy, knocking him against a building. 

"I think I've had enough of this!" The odds against him, Skull Satamon vanished in a puff of smoke. 

To Be Continued

*********************************************************** 

JC: So that was part five!

Taichi: So the last member of the Demon Corp has arrived! The Dark Towers may be gone from the West Shinjiku area, but what else is in store for us?

Yamato: Is it safe to say that love is in the air, even during this horrible pinch we're in?

Daisuke: Jiikai! Digimon Tamers Staring Point! 'All's Fair in Love!'

Ken: It's unquestionably loveable. 


	6. All's Fair in Love!

Starting Point_

Part 6

'All's Fair in Love'

By: JC Maxwell-Yuy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

JC: Part 6, finally!!!

Daisuke: Same disclaimers as before: JC doesn't own a thing!

JC: Shall we go? Yes, we can do it?

Daisuke: Stop singing. Let's start!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

After Skull Satamon hiked up his bones and ran from the Chosen Children, the exhausted Tamers and their friends headed for Koushiro's apartment, which was the closest. Once there, all the digimon and humans were delighted to find out that the redhead had called and ordered pizza… lots of it. 

"ITADAKIMASE!"

After eating, it was decided that since the dimensions were still messed up, it wouldn't be safe for everyone to split up and head home… because home was… well… confusing. Buildings and streets had already started to melt and fuse with other objects, so it was a wonder how the pizza guy got back, but anyways…

"How's Daisuke?" Taichi whispered as Yamato returned from the room where all the younger kids were sleeping.

"Out like a light. Same goes for everyone else." The blonde yawned. 

"I'm really worried about this you guys." Sora sat down on the floor with a cup of tea. The two boys fell silent. Demon… the evil that could not be destroyed. 

"Do you think it's going to be like the Diablomon incident again?" The red-haired girl looked at her cup. The steam floated off the eerily lit surface of the water.

"I hope not." Yamato hugged himself. Taichi saw this and moved in to wrap his arms around the taller boy. 

"We're not letting Daisuke-tachi deal with Demon alone this time." Taichi said.

"Definitely not alone." Sora sipped her tea. The cup cracked and the hot tea splashed on the floor.

"A bad sign." She sighed and got up to go wipe the liquid off the floor.

"Are you all right?" Mimi poked her head into the room. 

"Fine. It's nothing Mimi-chan." Sora wiped the mess off the floor.

"You know that digimon, Guilmon?" Koushiro walked into the room with his laptop.

"Yeah, what about him?" Taichi asked as he guided Yamato over to the couch and sat down. His boyfriend lay down in his lap.

"I can't find any data on him." Koushiro gestured at his laptop.

"No data? But he's a digimon. Surely there's something on him." Taichi said surprised. The Keeper of Knowledge shook his head.

"I see. Must be…"

"What I don't understand is his evolutions. None of what Takato-kun told me he evolved into matched what data I have in the analyzer." Koushiro sat down. Jyou and Sora entered the room with several cups of tea.

"Thanks." Koushiro took a long sip. 

"That other digimon Culumon…"

"No data either?" Mimi finished. 

"Where did these kids come from?"

"So do you have plan to defeat Demon?" Jyou sat down next to Mimi and offered her a cup of tea.

"Not yet." Koushiro stared at his laptop.

"If Imperialdramon couldn't stop him, I don't think Omegamon would stand a chance." Yamato shuddered and clutched Taichi tighter. The tension in the room grew even thicker with that remark.

"Aa… come on guys." Mimi broke the silence nervously.

"I mean, isn't this what the powers of darkness want us to think? You know, just so they can beat us because we're all negative and stuff?"

"You're right." Koushiro stood up. 

"I'm gonna do more research. You guys get some more sleep."

"I'll help you." Jyou stood up with the now empty cups of tea in a tray.

"Thanks Jyou." The two headed off to the kitchen.

"Well Mimi-chan. Guess it's off to bed for us." Sora got out of the chair she was sitting in. The girls headed for Koushiro's bedroom. 

"Sorry I don't have enough futons for all you guys." Koushiro poked his head back into the living room where Taichi and Yamato were still curled up on the couch.

"We don't mind." Taichi grinned.

"Aa…" Yamato waved his hand sleepily.

"I should have known." Koushiro smiled and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Oyasumi Yama-chan." Taichi kissed his lover's forehead lightly before drifting off into dreamland. 

Meanwhile, in the guestroom, Takato was curled up against Lee. Juri was sleeping on a futon with Ruki, and Hirokazu and Kenta were unconsciously sleeping in each other's arms. The digimon excluding Renamon were curled up in a big heap on another futon. 

Sora gently closed the door.

"Are they all…?" Mimi asked.

"Sleeping. They remind me of us when we were young." Sora whispered.

"They're so cute." Mimi grinned.

"I hope tomorrow's a better day." 

The next day… the sun peeped through the curtains. Takato slowly opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. He smiled. Lee had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Takato sighed and snuggled closer to the other boy and suddenly noticed that Kenta and Hirokazu were also in a similar but more questioning position on the floor. 

"Card… slash… " Kenta breathed.

"Black War Hirokazumon." Hirokazu mumbled. 

Takato giggled, the sight was so insanely funny. 

"Ohayo Takato-chan." Lee whispered softly.

"Ohayo Lee-chan." Takato turned around and their lips met for a gentle morning kiss.

"OH MY GOD!" Juri screamed loudly.

"WAAAAHHH!!!" Takato and Lee broke away from each other and fell onto Hirokazu and Kenta who were still blissfully unaware that their lips had already met… well… now they were aware and screaming too.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Ruki shot upright. Her left foot connected with Guilmon, who awoke with a start, sending Terriermon and Culumon who were sleeping on him tumbling to the floor. 

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Everyone started screaming.

"What's going on?" A sleepy-eyed Sora and Mimi burst into the room.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" everyone including Sora started screaming at the sight of Mimi's bed-hair.

"What the?" Taichi and Yamato stumbled into the room, took one look at everyone screaming and decided to start screaming too.

"WHAT IN…" Koushiro, Jyou, Daisuke, Hikari, and Miyako poked their heads into the room with a sleeping half-awake Ken and blanket-trailing Iori behind them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" 

After everyone had calmed down and made sure their hair wasn't standing up in every direction, breakfast began. 

"I refuse to do this again." Yamato said flatly as he stared at his dirty apron, Koushiro's now dirty kitchen, and the large bunch of happy kids and digimon gorging themselves on blueberry pancakes and eggs.

"I love you too honey." Taichi kissed Yamato on the cheek and returned to scarfing down his breakfast.

"WE LOVE YOU YAMATO!" the rest of the kids and digimon chorused.

"…" Yamato sighed.

So… we've already taken out Lady Devimon and Marine Devimon, right?" Taichi confirmed.

"So that only leaves Skull Satamon." Iori pointed out.

"And Demon." Ken shuddered.

"Don't give me that again Ken. You're stronger than that creep." Daisuke squeezed Ken's shoulder.

"He might have more forces. Ruki said that Dagomon was acting with him." Koushiro brought up Demon and Dagomon's data on to his laptop screen.

"Um… I feel crowded." 

"Yeah… well… there's not exactly a lot of room." Takeru moaned as everyone shifted this way and that, trying to look at Koushiro's computer screen.

"Even in the living room, we still don't have enough space." Hikari sighed.

"WWWWAHHHHHH!!!" everyone screamed… again as Ken tripped over Iori's foot, which sent everyone crashing into the floor.

"My cards!" Juri cried as her deck scattered all over the floor. The other started to pick them up but one of them caught Koushiro's eye.

"Let me see that!" The redhead took one of the cards Mimi picked up.

"It can't be… But it is!" Koushiro stared hard at the card in his hand.

"What is it?" Mimi asked and everyone crowded around her. Koushiro turned the card over. It was the Crest of Knowledge. 

"You're kidding!" Taichi gasped.

"You know… I have other cards just like it." Juri flipped through the cards the others had collected. Soon, she laid the Crests of Friendship, Courage, Love, Purity, Faith, Hope, and Light on the table. 

"Takato?" Taichi handed the Courage Crest card to the younger boy. Juri nodded. 

"OK…Let's see." Takato held the card up. 

"CARD SLASH! CREST OF COURAGE!" 

At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but the card shrank slowly into a small orange item.

"It is… my crest!" Taichi held up the orange object happily.

"This means…" Sora said.

"All our digimon can evolve… normally again! Without having to borrow power from the gods!" Jyou concluded.

"CARD SLASH!" soon, the remaining crests lay sparkling in the hands of their owners.

As the Chosen Children celebrated this new turn of events, Demon lay beneath the blanket of darkness that had begun to cover all of Japan. 

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

To Be Continued

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

JC: Well, part 6 is now done!

Ken: My ears are sore from all the screaming.

Juri: Oh, the suspense is killing me! What's going to happen next?

Daisuke: Next time, we all head out to battle Demon. What surprises will the demon lord have in store for us?

Miyako: WAAAH!! I'm so scared!

Hikari: Jiikai! Digimon Tamers Starting Point! 'The Pyramid of Darkness'. 


	7. The Pyramid of Darkness

Starting Point_

Part 7

'The Pyramid of Darkness'

by: JC Maxwell-Yuy

JC: Part 7! Wow, this one was on the backburner for a while!

Daisuke: Cruel! Cruel! 

JC: Well, I had other projects going.

Ken: That's no excuse!

JC: You guys aren't going to let me get away with this, are you?  
Daisuke: Nope!

Ken: Not a chance!

Lee: Then let's begin!

V-mon: JC doesn't own Digimon Adventure 02/Tamers or the characters, so there!

JC: Disclaimer done. Anything else?  
Yamato: Let's start!

With darkness fast approaching, the Chosen Children headed out towards the largest collection of Dark Towers in the city. 

"The darkness is so thick… it's getting harder to just breathe!" Iori coughed as he and Takeru trudged through the thick, swirling, black mist that had begun to blanket Tokyo. 

"Just keep going. We're almost to the place where the Dark Towers have created the biggest rift." Koushiro gasped.

"Once we destroy that, then it should get a little easier to move around." Tentomon said.

"It's not going to be easy though." Ken shivered. Through the mist, he could see the silhouettes of hundreds of Dark Towers. 

Meanwhile, Demon lay in the shadows of the Dark Tower cluster. With each step the Chosen Children took towards him, shadows began rushing outwards from his form. 

_"It is time…"  
_

BADOOM! A section of Dark Towers crumbled to dust as the Chosen Children's second generation blasted their way in, knocking down every tower in their path. 

"So, you have all come." Dagomon oozed out of the shadows. 

"KUSANAGI!"

"CURSE OF THE QUEEN!"

"SHOOTING STAR!"

"GOLD RUSH!"

"BLUE THUNDER!" 

Dagomon's tentacles easily deflected all the attacks. As the armor digimon advanced, Takato, Lee, Ruki, and their digimon where right behind the charge. 

"Let's go! CARD SLASH!" 3 cards were swiped simultaneously as evolution's light burst from Culumon's forehead. 

EVOLUTION_

"I don't believe it!" Dagomon growled. "Even with this many Dark Towers, evolution is still possible?!"

"GUILMON SHINKA!"

"What's that light?" Taichi shielded his eyes as Culumon's forehead burned brighter with red energy.

"RENAMON SHINKA!"

"That light… it's aiding evolution and blocking out the Dark Towers' effect?!" Demon sneered. "Well, this is an unexpected turn of events. No matter, those three children are still all I need to complete my ultimate power."

"TERRIERMON SHINKA!" 

"Enough of this! FORBIDDEN TRIDENT!" Dagomon attacked the three digimon while they were still evolving, shattering the evolution shells and knocking them to the ground. 

"GUILMON!" Takato ran towards his partner, only to be snatched up along with his digimon by one of Dagomon's tentacles. 

"Takato!" Lee shouted, but he and Ruki soon wound up the same situation as their friend. The six struggled to get free from the sliming clutches of the demon digimon, but to no avail.

"Finally, I have all 3!" Demon announced as he descended. He signaled Dagomon, who threw the Tamers and their digimon at the Dark Tower cluster. 

Upon impact, the Dark Towers glowed bright red and absorbed all six beings into its mass. Juri covered her eyes in horror, her screams echoing through the air. 

Demon was laughing. For beneath him, the Dark Towers began to shift into a new formation… A red, transparent, triangle-based pyramid. Resting upon the apex was a small orb. 

"What is that thing?" Yamato stared in utter shock.

"They… they're still in …" Sora gasped as she raised a shaking hand towards the corners of the base. As everyone followed her gaze, the same silence fell over them. 

Takato, Ruki, and Lee, bound with their digimon, lifeless and pale, sealed into each corner of the base. 

"Let's see… ah!" Demon gestured with his hands, and a burning fire ignited within the transparent walls of the pyramid. 

The Chosen Children could only watch helplessly as Demon's fire licked at the Tamers, before rushing up the sides of the pyramid to the top, where the orb began to grow. 

_THUMP!_

THUMP!

"Yes… but first… Allow me to reveal my true self!" Demon's robes shredded, revealing the horrible beast creature that was hidden beneath the hood. 

"EEEEEWWWW!" Mimi gagged. 

"I think you'll all find this next trick familiar! Come to me…" Demon pulled a handful of his fur, and tossed it at the remaining Dark Towers within the area that didn't get fused into creating the pyramid. 

Red rings of energy charged the hairs as they pierced the towers.

"But this is…" Ken gasped as the towers suddenly began to rise from the ground.

"Like Archnemon!" Palmon finished. 

"A simpleton like that witch could never do this!" Demon laughed, as the towers exploded into dark data, and reformed into a army of various Dark Tower Digimon. 

"Guess we've got no choice." Koushiro muttered. 

"But there's no Dark Towers anymore! Evolution should be possible now!" Miyako shouted. 

"That's right!" Hikari agreed. 

"Let's show em' what we got!" Daisuke said. 

"Culu!" 

Shining

Evolution_

"OMEGAMON!"

"IMPERIALDRAMON FIGHTER FORM!"

"SILPHYMON!"  


"SHAKKOUMON!"

"GARUDAMON!"

"ATLUR KABUTERIMON!"

"LILLIMON!"  


"ZUDOMON!"

"It matters not how high a level you reach! You will all fall!" Dagomon roared as the army charged forward. 

"GREY SWORD!"  


"POSITRON LASER!"

Explosions ripped through the frontline of the dark army. 

"Come on! We have to get Takato and the others out of that pyramid!" Kenta shouted.

"Right!" Juri grabbed Culumon and dashed forward towards the structure, followed by a reluctant Hirokazu with Mimi, Sora, and their Digimon for support. 

"Oh no you don't!" Dagomon launched another 'Forbidden Trident' at the group, but Zudomon countered the water wave with 'Hammer Spark', electrocuting Dagomon.   


"Stop them you fools!" Demon ordered and started his 'Flame Inferno' attack, but he was distracted, and got rammed by Omegamon, stopping the attack. 

"HORN BUSTER!"  


"TOP GUN!" Silphymon and Atlur Kabuterimon teamed up and blasted Demon.

"FLAME INFERNO!" Demon countered, and the two digimon were knocked away easily. The fire continued, but Shakkoumon absorbed it and blew off the steam. 

"We're almost there!" Mimi cried.

"FLOWER CANNON!"

"We'll get you out of there!" Sora forced herself to run faster for she'd begun to fall behind.

"SHADOW WING! Are you all right Sora?" Garudamon asked.

"Yes. I'm fine. Keep going." Sora gasped. 

"Takato! Ruki! Lee!" Juri shouted as she stumbled among the shattered concrete to aid her friends. 

"Take this!" Hirokazu picked up a stick and whacked the side of the pyramid.

"That's not going to work!" Kenta groaned. 

"Well, at least I'm trying!" Hirokazu argued back.

"Will you two stop arguing and try to get them out of there." Mimi shouted. "I don't think we can hold them back any longer."

"UUGGGNNN!!!" Juri and Culumon pulled at Ruki, but she was completely sealed into the base.

"It's hopeless. The wall's unbreakable!" Kenta sank to his knees in defeat.

"Never give up! Garudamon!" Sora called. The bird digimon soared down from the sky and delivered a powerful punch to the pyramid wall, but it didn't budge. 

"I can't have you keep interfering! CHAOS FLARE!" Demon fired his attack into the pyramid, causing it to give off a shockwave of negative energy, de-evolving every digimon and knocking the children down. 

"This… this is it…" Taichi groaned. "Yamato…"  


"… Taichi. It can't end like this."

"Wormmon! Wormmon!" Tears began welling up in Ken's eyes.

"Ken…" Daisuke murmured. 

"The digimon fought their hardest but it still wasn't enough." Hikari clutched Tailmon in her arms.

"I won't lose hope!" Takeru said. 

"I… I wish I could be that confident." Iori muttered as Demon and the remnants of the army advanced, with Dagomon in the lead.

"Someone… help us…" Miyako prayed. Despair had fallen over the Chosen, but they weren't ready to lose without a fight. But they weren't the only ones with a strong will.

"I don't like this game anymore! CULU!" Culumon buried his face in Juri's shirt. 

"Hm?" Juri whispered as she felt the warm, pulsing light against her. "Culumon?"  


'That light… it always helped in the past… maybe…' Juri forced herself to her feet.

"Culu…" The light began to flicker.

"Don't stop now Culumon. We need that light." Juri staggered to the Pyramid and collapsed to her knees.

"Come on Juri." Hirokazu extended his hand. Kenta helped the girl to her feet and the three continued walking to the pyramid.

"Now, it all ends!" Demon grinned, poison dripping from his fangs.

"CULU!" 

"What's this?" Demon turned to see Juri, Hirokazu, and Kenta standing at the pyramid, with Culumon.

"We won't let it end." Hirokazu said.

"We all may be scared." Kenta fidgeted.

"But when our friends need us, we're there for them." Juri finished. The resolve of the three touched something in every one of the other children and digimons' hearts.

"What can you ants do?" Dagomon snickered. "You don't have partner digimon!"  


"THIS! CULU!" With that, Culumon turned towards the pyramid and shot a brilliant sunburst of energy into it.

"What have you done?" Demon shouted in fury as the edges of the pyramid began glowing iridescent colors, obscuring the evil flame within. Three colors emerged from the lines, red, green, and blue. The light became three respective orbs, and buried themselves in the corners of the pyramid.

Matrix

Evolution_

To Be Continued 

JC: Ooo… I know what's coming!

Takato: Demon's in trouble!

Ruki: When I get through with that winged freak, he'll be a turkey burger. I'll blast him! STRAIGHT INTO THE STRATOSPHERE! 

Ken: So, what can we expect next time?  
JC: Evolution power has been shot into the pyramid. Three powers are about to reach their limit.

Daisuke: Jiikai! Digimon Tamers Starting Point! 'Dream of Faith! Miracle in the Darkness Pyramid'! 


End file.
